China auto sales to grow 20% annually in next five years

Shanghai, April 19 (Gasgoo.com) According to a study of 2010 China Auto Outlook by the global business-advisory firm AlixPartners, 50 senior executives from both foreign and domestic players in China’s automobile industy, predicted average sales growth of 20% per annum between now and 2015.

The Chinese auto market has been soaring in both production and sales from the second half of last year, while it will not sustain in a long term, said the survey.

Q1’s vehicle sales came to 4.61 million, up 71.78% from a year earlier, which kept an average growth of 80% in the last three quarters, according to the data provided by China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

“There will be a steady growth of Chinese auto market in the future, with a projected average sales growth of 20% per annum between now and 2015”, said John Hoffecker, a managing director of AlixPartners. 70% of interviewees think the average annual growth of foreign trade will be 10% and could not compare to the volume of 2008.

However, there is still room for growth in China’s auto market. 60% of urban families with more than 60,000 yuan ($8,785) annual incomes own a car, compared to 110%-120% in the western countries. With the steady growth of China economy, the number of families with 60,000 yuan annual income is increasing.